Mother's Day - Fully booked? What other options?

Update 2026, May. You can still dine at Gilbert's Restaurant in Grimsdyke Hotel in Old Redding, and Sea Pebbles for fish and chips in Hatch End, and Café Rouge restaurants in London.  Mr Alfredo Fellini's latest restaurant is Midori. For nostalgic reasons, I leave this old post with writeups of the long gone and lamented for their decor as well as wonderful food m Hawtrey's restaurant at the Barn Hotel in Ruislip and Osteria Modigliani in Pinner..

Problem
I did a bit of ringing around for somebody who wanted to invite his mother for mother's day lunch in London, England.

I found
Grimsdyke Hotel
Tel
£39 per person lunch fully booked. They are also doing tea and dinner.

The Barn Hotel, Hawtrey's restaurant, mother day lunch at £38.95 per person. Full booked.
Tel: 01895 636057.

As they say of vineyards, the time to plant is twenty years ago. The time to book mother's day lunch is not the night before. It's getting like the Edinburgh Festival. You have to book for the following year.

My other favourites:
HATCH END, PINNER & BUSHEY HEATH
Pinner

Osteria Modigliani

New On The Block
Porta Grande, Italian cuisine (took over from Fellini)
www.portagrande.co.uk
 tel:0208 428 4359.
The Steak Restaurant, 316 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, HA5 4HR, tel 0208 421 2878.

Old On The Block
Black Pepper, 461 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End HA5 4JA.
http://www.blackpepperrestaurant.co.uk/index.php?page=home
'At the heart of Hatch End', says their website, neatly alliterative. I've had great meals here many times, over the years.

Sea Pebbles, 352 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, Pinner HA5 4HR. tel 0208 428 0203.
seapebbles.co.uk
Chips is what they are famous for. (For Americans, British chips are like French fries but more potato. Not potato crisps.)
Sea Pebbles has another branch at 114-116 High Road, Bushey Heath WD23 1GE but I think the Hatch End branch is bigger and better atmosphere and great murals.
They ran an ad in Optima saying @5% off food NOT drinks, last Monday of the month. Next ones would be March 26th, and April 23rd, which is St George's Day, England's national day and Shakespeare's birthday, but Sea Pebbles ad said their last day of the month offer includes bank holidays.

Café Rouge, Pinner

With two family birthdays in the month of March I get to see vouchers for Prosecco which last up to 6 weeks from the birthday, which is great, as it's hard for us to get all the family in one country at one time.
www.caferouge.com
French style chain with 120 restaurants across the UK, in London at Pinner, Ruislip and many more. Large venues so you have a higher chance of getting a table. The Ruislip branch has a parking area behind the restaurant.
Huge menu. Everybody is bound to see something they like.

If you can't get into an upmarket, gourmet restaurant, you could opt for a cheap meal out try a pub or a carvery. However, be prepared for a race track of children.

People may complain that you should treat mother well every day of the year, or for a meal out every Sunday, but the commercialisation of Mother's Day seems to be a great success for restaurants.

If all else fails, treat mother on Monday or Tuesday or next week. But those who are at work, and have the funds to take mother out for a meal would prefer a Sunday, so maybe next year.

Useful Websites
UK wide : www.caferouge.com

http://www.blackpepperrestaurant.co.uk/index.php?page=home
www.caferouge.com

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g7380842-d1415050-Reviews-Friends_Restaurant-Pinner_Greater_London_England.html
www.portagrande.co.uk
seapebbles.co.uk
thesteakrestaurant.com
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1869831-d2358851-Reviews-Water_s_Edge_Stonehouse_Pizza_Carvery-Ruislip_Greater_London_England.html
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/marvellous-meal-at-osteria-modigliani.html

REGIONAL
Worth a trip:
http://www.theharrowatlittlebedwyn.com
High price high quality Michelin restaurant. Get on their mailing list for reduced price meals and special offers for your special occasions.

Stay overnight with a meal:
http://www.huntsbridge.com/index.php?pageid=13
Grimsdyke Hotel
The Barn Hotel

Author
Angela Lansbury

Happiness is Lunch in Hawtrey's Restaurant at the Barn Hotel, Ruislip

Look for the history of the hotel in the restaurant menu and wine list.

The hotel has a fire in the old hearth in the old part of the original building. It leans as much as 16 degrees! (Now shored up, apparently.)

If you have lunch in Hawtrey's Restaurant, you'll appreciate the hot bread. See my review on Tripadvisor.

The menu changes weekly.

The hotel has a car park.

If you are coming by train, the hotel is next to Ruislip station if you are coming here from central London, or meeting a friend, family, or colleagues who are coming from central London.

Ruislip station is not to be confused with the other Ruislip stations. Check the website.

Birthday Lunch At Hawtrey's Restaurant in the Barn Hotel, Ruislip, London

Hawtreys has always been one of my two top favourite restaurants for food and historic atmosphere. The Barn hotel has a log fire burning in the central lounge under beams.

Starter
    The set menu changes daily. I am allergic to shellfish and did not feel like mushroom soup so I opted for the egg. I knew the chef would do something special. My egg appeared with a crunchy outside. Deep fried? the bacon was turned into a triangular sail. Hardly healthy. But very tasty.

Main Course
  My main course of lamb was perfect. I didn't really notice the potato. The beans were satisfying. Under the lamb I discovered asparagus.

Dessert
   I had phoned to ask for Happy Birthday to be written on my plate. The Happy Birthday was a delight. The chocolate and sorbet were not overwhelming in flavour, a slight disappointment.

The coffee was not impressive.

But all in all the near-perfect lunch. At a reasonable price.

Ladies
   The ladies toilet is always a delight. Lovely mirrors. Paper tissues as well as paper towels. Gel soap and hand conditioner. Elegant and colourful. You emerge feeling elegant, pampered and pleased.